Verge visits: Reading Festival with The Google Pixel 2

We are never one to turn down a fun packed weekend and when you attend Reading Festival that’s exactly what you’re in for! Verge had the privilege of attending this years brilliant event, packed full of the latest and greatest performers.

With Reading being only a short distance away from central London, we know that towards the end of August it’s time to get on the train and head to one of late summer’s treasures. Reading Festival always caters to the masses and never disappoints; with acts like Travis Scott, The Vaccines, JHUS and Fall Out Boy there’s always something to keep the good vibes going.

We must admit that by the end of the third day our bodies started to feel the festival burn from mosh pits, jumping up and down ecstatically and walking between tents; nevertheless, we had to share our crazy weekend at Reading just to make you jealous!

The first day had an impressive line up – with everyone travelling in, preparing for a long weekend full of fun. The Radio 1 stage had tons to offer; with huge up and coming acts like MIST, IAMDDB, The Blaze and Maggie Rogers. If you’re looking to add a more upbeat tempo to your weekend, the Radio 1 Dance Stage dominated with turntable geniuses Annie Mac, BICEP, KDA and Kolsch. The Radio 1xtra stage offered the perfect London line up for those who felt a bit homesick; Kojo Funds, D-Block Europe and Ms Banks shut down the day. But, if you’re keen to find out who’s up next, the BBC Music Introducing stage had some of our new faves like Malika, Fizzy Blood and Litany!

All of those amazing acts might be enough for some, but we just couldn’t resist coming back for more! On Saturday we started off the day strong with some great food, great vibes caused by even greater performers. We couldn’t help but shriek with excitement over Rex Orange County and Brockhampton, but there was no time to dwell as Alan Walker and Noname didn’t disappoint at the Radio 1 Dance stage. We just had to head over to The Pit/ The Lock Up stage where the legendary Papa Roach blew our minds with a phenomenal set. Some of the UK’s finest graced the 1xtra stage making it almost impossible to call it a day – we’ve now realised that we’ve got tons of passion for Yxng Bane and Yungen, possibly a bit too much as we defiantly were the loudest voices when they came on stage. We spent the early afternoon singing along to Dua Lipa (although she did a way better job than us) and dancing to the iconic sounds of N.E.R.D. We honestly didn’t think the day could get any better; but when Kendrick Lamar touches down you know the fun is just beginning. Kendrick was on top form and dominated, doing what only Kung-Fu Kenny can.

By Sunday we thought that the bar had been reached, there’s no way our weekend could get any more spectacular, but of course we were wrong. There was no room for a relaxing Sunday as Diplo, Lil Pump and Slaves kept the party going on the Radio 1 stage. Riton & Kah-Lo, Jax Jones and Mr Eazi gave us enough fire at the Radio 1 Dance stage that we couldn’t imagine a better way to spend a Sunday. As we’ve previously mentioned, Reading had something for every mood, so it was great to listen to the incredible voices of Lewis Capaldi, Tom Grennan and Isaac Gracie at the Festival Republic stage. We managed to catch Bhad Bhabie performing outside at the 1xtra stage (see what we did there?), as well as witness the electric performance from SCARLXRD! To end the weekend on the highest note, Kings of Leon rocked the night away as they headlined and closed the festival on the main stage- we have to say it was a perfect way to end what was an astounding weekend that will be very hard to beat!

After spending years going to festivals and never having the right gear to capture all of our best moments, we’ve finally found the answer! The Google Pixel 2 had everything we needed to log all the fun for those rainy days that are most likely due to head our way soon…

With the Google Pixel 2’s unlimited storage we had endless space to capture all the best moments on stage, as well as our best moments in the crowd. As if that wasn’t enough to seal the deal, all of our moments came out picture perfect since the Pixel 2 has one of the top rated smartphone cameras available! We all know that there is nothing more annoying and useless than dead phone batteries and used portable chargers, especially when everyone wants to use yours! This time we enjoyed our days without the constant panic of the red battery icon- with just 15 minutes of charging you can get up to 7 hours of battery life, which made it super easy to find the team when we needed to! Speaking of finding, we never had to have the awkward conversation of ”where did you get that outfit?” with total strangers – with the Google Pixel 2 we were able to snap pics of our favourite looks and use the Google Lens Style Match to find a similar look, so good-bye to fashion envy! One of the best features from the Pixel 2 was the fun perks that were available; on that long train journey home there was nothing better than asking google to beatbox, it definitely lightened the mood and brightened our spirits!

We had a blast at this year’s Reading Festival and we cannot wait until next year so we can do it all over again!

Share on

Sian is excited to take on the role as the new Verge Music and Entertainment Editor. Having trained at The infamous Brit School, Sian entered the industry at a young age and never looked back. After gaining a BA Hons in Theatre dance and working for over 15 years as a professional dancer, Sian has two stepped her way across the globe behind some of the biggest music industry stars! After hanging up her dancing boots she's worked continuously within the industry on set and behind the scenes, with stints at SONY BMG and ITV.
Never being a salad eating kinda girl Sian is a lover of all good food, good music and usually has her nose in a good book! Failing that she's online shopping.
Lover of the sun and all things positive!